Theatre of Gadsden to host Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

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By Sarrah Peters, News Editor

The Theatre of Gadsden will present the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for six showings. The show will premiere on Friday, July 21 at the Ritz Theatre in Gadsden. The show will be performed on July 21, 22, 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. The Sunday showings on July 23 and 30 will be at 2:30 p.m.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat “is primarily music,” according to Director Mike Beecham.

“It’s one of the first rock operas, or a precursor  to the rock opera, that became popular,” said Beecham.

The musical was written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is well-known for writing Phantom of the Opera.

“The story comes straight from Genesis,” said Theatre of Gadsden Board President Forrest Hinton, who also plays Jacob in the musical. “It’s the story of Joseph and all the things he goes through in his life, from being his father’s favorite son out of 12  sons, to having his 11 brothers turn on him and sell him into slavery and tell his father he’s dead, to being imprisoned, to becoming second in command to Pharaoh because he was able to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. And then reuniting with his family and forgiving his brothers.”

David Wooten, the actor playing Joseph, said that this is an exciting role for him. This is his first performance playing the lead.

“This is a tenor role, which is really challenging for me,” said Wooten, who is a baritone. “I like the callenge.”

The songs in the show have a wide array of styles, including country, rock, disco, gospel and a song in the style of Elvis Presley.

As music is a huge part of the show, there will be an orchestra conducted by Gina Albert Garmon and two choruses. The music director is Cheryl Stafford Moorer.There is a regular chorus and a children’s chorus. About 30 kids are participating in the play, with ages ranging from 4 to 14.

The story is narrated as it tells the story to the children’s chorus. As the narrater tells the story the characters come to life. The children’s chorus remains onstage for the whole show.

In total there are about 70 people in the show.

“It’s the largest cast that the Theatre of Gadsden has had in this building [the Ritz Theatre],” said Beecham.

The family friendly show is appropriate and fun for all ages, while staying true to the story.

“You can feel every emotion in this show,” said Wooten.

Because of the high demand for tickets, reserved seats are now available. Reserved tickets are $17. Tickets for students, seniors and military are $15. A $3 discount for each person can be applied to groups of 10 or more.

“Buy your tickets now,” said Hinton. “It’ll be a nice way to spend the afternoon or evening. I think they are in for a real treat.”

To purchase tickets, call 256-547-7469 or visit www.theatreofgadsden.org.

For the premiere on July 21, an opening reception will be held with the road outside the theatre closed.

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